Sharks No 8 Ryan Kankowski will be sidelined for a month after undergoing an operation on his thumb.

Kankowski injured his thumb in last week’s match against the the Bulls. It was hoped that the injury wasn’t too severe and that he would face the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday, but it’s now been confirmed that he will go for surgery on Wednesday and miss the next four matches.

Willem Alberts will be included on the Sharks bench for Saturday’s game. Marcell Coetzee is likely to move to No 8 with Jacques Botes staring on the flank along with Keegan Daniel.